Ecomuseum

This museum in Ste. Anne de Bellevue features animals from the St. Lawrence Valley

By Meagan Boisse

Justin Mendonça

Just 20 minutes outside downtown Montreal, visitors will find the Ecomuseum, the only outdoor zoo on the island. Open year-round, the zoo features 115 animal species exclusively from Quebec’s St. Lawrence Valley. From birds of prey, such as eagles and owls, to large mammals, such as wolves and caribou, the zoo is a home to many iconic Canadian animals that have come to symbolize our country’s natural wildlife.

All of the zoo’s animals are orphaned, injured, or born in captivity and are not able to return to the wild. Visitors can enjoy the zoo’s spacious outdoor enclosures on its 11 hectares of property, or they can check out the From Light to Dark indoor exhibit, which showcases a variety of different reptiles, amphibians, fish and nocturnal mammals.